Signaling apparatus



Jan. 15, 1929. 1,698,737

J. M. ROBERTS S I GNALI NG APPARATUS Filed June 1, 1922 '2 Sheets-Sheet 1 gnumfloz Jan. 15, 1929.

1,698,737 J. M. ROBERTS SIGNALING APPARATUS Filed June 1. 1922 2 sheets-sheet 2 Patented Jan. 15, 1929.

J ACOB M. ROBERTS, OF NORFOLK, VIRGINIA.

SIGNALING APPARATUS.

Application filed June 1,

This invention relates to signaling apparatus and has particular reference to that class of signaling apparatus in which a visible record is made on the intermittently fed tape, which recorded signals may be impressed by various means and if desired may be stored for future reference. I

The invention is designed to present several distinct improvements and advantages over the construction presented by my earlier Patent No. 1,420,618, issued June 20, 1922, and broadlystated the machine embodies as its principal features the features shown and described in said patent. One of the objects of the present invention is to provide a signaling recording apparatus of the character described, by which the signal-carrying means may be deformed in any suitable mannor for the production of the signals; and the parts of. which are few in number and compactly arranged in a suitable housing where they will be protected from possible injury or disarrangement.

A further object of the invention is to provide a signal recording mechanism which may be compactly arranged to record various types of signals in accordance with the form of record desired, and in which changes may be made quickly and without'requiring the alteration of the several parts of the mechanism.

A still further object of the invention is to provide a. signal recording mechanism, the parts of which are so arranged as to give better operating results than are obtained by the construction disclosed in my patent above referred to and which will afford a more eflicient magnet leverage, and to protect the parts of the mechanism by enclosing the same in a register casing.

lVith such objects in View, as well as other advantages which may be incident to the use of theimprovements, the invention consists in the parts and combinations thereof hereinafter set forth and claimed, with the understanding that the several necessary elements constituting the same may be varied in proportions and arrangement without departing from the nature and scope of the invention.

In order to make the invention more clearly understood there are shown in the accompm nying drawings means for carrying the same into practical effect, without limiting the improvements, in their useful applications, to the particular constructions which, for the 1922. Serial No. 565,206.

purpose of explanation, have been made the subject of illustration.

In said drawings:

Fig. 1 is a plan view of the signaling apparatus taken through the enclosing housing and adapted to record the signals by means of powder dropped at intervals upon the tape.

Fig. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view on line 22 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a transverse section on line 33 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 4 is an enlarged detail view of the spring actuated gear train or motor which is designed to intermittently feed the recording tape or belt.

Fig. 5 is an enlarged detail view, partly in section showing the recording mechanism as designed to produce a punched record in the recording tape.

Fig. 6 is a vertical transverse section on line 66 of Fig. 5.

Fig. 7 is an enlarged detail view showing the signal recording mechanism as adapted to form the signals on the tape by crimping or corrugating the latter by suitable dies.

Fig. 8 is a vertical transverse section on line 88 of Fig. 7.

Fig. 9 is an enlarged detail view showing the signal recording mechanism as adapted to form the signals on the tape by depositing powder.

Referring to the drawings the machine is illustrated in its preferred form as mounted upon a base land enclosed in the suitable housing comprising side walls 2, end walls 3 and a top or cover 4. 5 and 6 are a pair of electro magnets or coils, fixed upon the base 1 and at one, side thereof. Suspended longi tudinally of the housing by a fixed attachment to the lever rock shaft 7 and over the magnets 5 and 6, is a lever 7 having an armature bar 8 carried at one end thereof. The armature bar 8 is set into the lever 7 at an angle as best shown in Fig. 2, where it is positioned to best possible advantage with respect to the companion coils. The lever 7 at the opposite side of the shaft 7 from the armature bar Sis curved upwardly and clownwardly and at the lower extremity thereof is provided with the pawl 9 pivotally mounted at 10 on the lever. 11 is a ratchet wheel mounted for rotation upon a transverse shaft 12 supported by the side walls 2 and forming an integral part of the spring barrel or casing 13. The other end of the shaft 12 carries the main driring gear lat by which the gear train, best illustrated'in Fig. his actuated.

The pawl 9 is normally pressed in engagement with the ratchet wheel 11 by leaf spring 15. The recording-belt or tape is shown at 16 and is designed to pass through the base 1 into contact with the'signa lling apparatus and out the end wall as shown at 17. The belt is fed through the telegraph sounding instrument by means of the opposed rollers 18 and 19 between which. the belt passes and its travel through the machine is assuredby the toothed or serrated surface of the feed roller 18. Thefeed rollers 18 and 19 are actuated by the driving gear 1% fixed on the shaft lQ and meshin" with the pinion Q0 onthe roller shaft 21 has rig one end mounted in the side wall 2 of the casing and hating its other end journaled in the suitable bearing portion 23 mounted on the end wall, and is further rotatably supported inter-mes i ate of its length by the wall or partition er:- tending longtudinally of the casingand to one side of the center thereof; Thearmature lever-7 is normally held at a predetermined position. with relation to. the electromagnets 5 and-6. by adjusting screws 24 and coil spring Q-Gandit will be observed that by regulating the screwQ-, thelever maybe positioned'normally at any desirable angle with respect to the el ctromagnetsj and that-the coil spring tends to hold the lever 7 a-nd-armatureS away from engagementwith the magnet cores. 26;is the powder box or container mounted foryertieal reciprocationon one'side of the partition 22 and directly over the recordingbelt or' tape 16.. -Ex-tending over the top of and suitably aubtached to the powder box; QGis-an actuating or impactingarrn or member. 27 fixed, as at 28, at one endof-the levershaft 7 and moving with the armature lever. (hie end'of the member'QT- extends downwardly and is provided witha foot-29. Theupper end ofthe powder boxis provided with an upwardly extending tube 3(lhav ing a screw-threaded en'g gement with the upper portion of the powder container and extendingupwardly into a rent-31 provided witha cap 3'13 andby ine'ans of'this arrangement the container 26 "may be replenis red with powder when d 77' ed. The trainof gcaringili illustrated in Fig; l isaotuated by the shaft 1-2 and main drive gear le -and is or. may be the same as in inypatent-.abo\-'e described and willnot here he'enlargedupon in detail; Said train of gearing iscarrird on the transverse shafts 1:2,

in the side wallQia'ndcentral partition 22 as best, seen in. Fig. 1; Before the motor is in stalled the spring57 is initially wound to the desired extentand'the stops 65 66 are in engaginggrelation. The power of'sn'ch initial winding is always maintained; Additional power is'stor'ed 'forl the actuation"ofthejshaft l2'through then'i'eans' of lev'er 7, paw1'9 and which are suitably-journaled barrel L The outer endof a spiral spring within the barrelis attached to the latter so that the turning of the barrel by the pawl winds up the spri g, and the inner end of the springis attached toand turns the shaft 12. The shaft carries at its inner end a brake wheel 36. 87 is a friction spring element pivtally mounted by means of a pin 38 to the partition "22 v The'outer end of the spring element 37 is engaged by or fastenedto the foot 29 of the impacting member 27 and is normally out of engagement with the brake wheel BG. The inner end of the shaft is provided with an erasing or ole. ng wheel 2-59 the periphery of which contacts withthe surface of the belt or tape 16. As in the earlier companion case before referred to this cleaning wheel is shown as of brush lil e form and-a receptacle 6? is provided to receive par tioles of powder removed from the belt 4 tape thereby. I 7

40 is "a bracket member which is suitably secured, as by screws 4-1, to 'the partition 22 and'the upper endiof this bracketcomprises at its upper end a horizontally extendingbt furcated portion seri-"ing as a support and guide for the belt or tape 16; The horizontal portion 42 of the braclret lO is further provided with an aperture 43, which a aerture is in alignment with a tube or discharge pipe A d to the lower side ofv the said bifurcated portion and extending. vertically downwardly through the base oft-hemachine The powder-container 26 is provided with a powder discharge nozzle 45 apertured at 4 6 to permit the passage of the belt and deposited powder away from the' same' without possibility of smearing the powder on the tape.

l have shownmy invention as particularly applied to a telegraph sounder, and for this purposethe base 1 is provided with the usual binding posts 4 7 and 48 which are connected in the usual form with the electroina 'net-s 5 and G-to which th'e'wires -19 and 50 maybe connected.

From the foregoing it will be observedt-ha-t when th magnets 5 and Gare energized the armature 8 is brought sharply into ment with the magnet cores swinging the lever 7 downwardly with its pivot 7 withthe result that thepawl't) engages the teeth of the'ratchetwheel 11 and rotates same t e wind the spring. This action of the lever 7 also bri gs the powder container sharply into contact with the belt 16, the latter being guided and supported bet-weenthe' bifurcations of the bracket a0 and depositing the portion-of tlie powder on the belt. At the same time the-tension spring 87 is brought into engagement with the brakewheei 36 which locks the gear train and prevents movement of the belt whiletlie powder is being deposited. On the openingof the circuit the lever 7- carrying armature 8 is moved back to itsnormal positio'n'by the coil'spri'ng'2'5l The foot 29 of the member 27 on the upstroke moving the tensionspring 37 out of engagement with the brake wheel 36 and the pawl 9, rides freely over the teeth of the ratchet wheel 11, the releasing of the brake wheel permitting the coil spring to expand within the limits of the stop lugs and 66 to advance the belt. 58 is a holding pawl engaging the ratchet 11 and preventing the barrel 13 from unwinding when the pawl 9 is riding over the teeth thereof on the upstroke of the armature and lever.

By reference to Fig. 4 it will be observed that the inner end of the coil spring 57 is fixed to the shaft 12 and its outer endis fastened to the inner surface of the barrel 13. It will tierefore be observed that the shaft 12 and gear train will rotate to advance the belt 16 except when the brake wheel 36 is engaged by the tension spring 37. The spring 57 is self winding due to the action of the intermittent motion of the pawl 9 and ratchet 11. It will be understood that the tape advances periodically during signaling and thereafter the parts come to rest by reason of the stop 66 engaging with the stop 65, the latter having been advanced somewhat during the signaling operation, as more par ticularly set forth in my said patent.

When it is desired .to deform or mark the tape 16 instead of depositing powder thereon, as by punching holes therein, the powder nozzle 45 is screwed out of engagement with the container 26 and the punch or die 51 is screwed into the threaded aperture in the container. The punching element or die 51 is provided with a shoulder 52 which is adapted to contact with the horizontal surface of the portion 42 of the bracket, thus limiting the downward movement of said punch with respect to the bracket. The portion 51 penetrates the tape or belt 16 which is of suitable material to be readily perforated and the punchings are conveyed by the tube 14 to a suitable point of discharge. The belt 16 is moved with respect to the punch after each perforation by the train of gearing above described.

In the event that it is deemed desirable to crimp the tape or belt instead of punching the same or depositing powder thereon the arrangement is best shown in Figs. 7 and S. A crimping member or die 53, having corrugations 53 on the lower surface thereof, is screwed into the lower portion of the contaiuer 26 in place of the punch 51 and the bracket 40 is removed by the unscrewing of the screws 41 and is replaced by a bracket 54: of slightly different form on its horizontal portion. As seen in Figs. 7 and 8, the horizontal portion 55 of the bracket 54 is provided with teeth or corrugations 56 in alignment with and adapted to mesh with the teeth 53 of the crimping element or die 53 when the latter is brought into engagement therewith. The portion 55 of the bracket 54 is further ecessed as at 56 to permit the ready passage of the crimping portion of the tape out of engagen'ient with the bracket and to' further prevent transverse movement of said "ape while the same is being 'crimped.

What I claim is:

1. In a signaling apparatus, in combination: a movable signal receiving element, .reans for impressing a signal on said element, a shaft for moving said signal receiv ing element, a spring having one end fixed relative to the said shaft, a power transmitter adapted to actuate said signal impressing el ment, said power transmitter being further adapted to simultaneously wind said spring to lock it against expansion, and means operated by said power transmitter to free said spring to permit it to rotate said shaft.

2. In signaling apparatus, in combination: a movable signal impressing element,

a signal receiving element movable relative to said signal impressing element, a motor spring having one end fixed relative to said signal receiving element, means connected to the other end of said spring for winding the same, a reciprocating power transmitter adapted while moving in one direction to ac tuate said signal impressing element to impress a signal on said signal receiving element and to simultaneously wind said spring and lock same against expansion and adapted while moving in the other direction to release said spring to permit the advancing of said signal receiving element.

3. In a signaling apparatus, in combination: a movable punching die, a. movable tape below said punching die, a shaft for moving said tape, a spring having one end fixed to said shaft operat-ively connecting said spring with said shaft, means connected with the other end of said spring for winding same, two inter-engaging stops, one of said stops connected to the shaft and the other of said stops connected to said spring winding means, a power transmitter adapted to actuate said punch to intermittently perforate said tape and to simultaneously move one end of the spring in the winding direction, a die adapted to co-operate with said punch, and means automatically acting to prevent said spring from expanding while said punch is perforating said tape.

i. In a signaling apparatus, in combination: a movable punching die, av movable tape below said punching die, a shaft for moving said tape, a spring having one end fixed tosaid shaft operatively connecting said spring with said shaft, means connected with the other end of said spring for winding same, two inter-engaging stops, one of said stops connected to the shaft and the other of said stops connected to said spring winding means, a power transmitter adapted to actuate said punch to intermittently perforate a secondary shai t operatively c nnected to said spring" and carrying a brake wheel and means operated by said power transmitter to prevent said spring from expanding while said punch is perforating-said tape.

5. In a signaling apparatus, the combination of a signal impressing mechanism, said signal impressing mechanism comprising a male die, movable means for receiving said impressing signal, power device, means actuate'dby said power device for imparting blows to said signal impressing mechanism, means actuated by said power device for imparting movement to the signal receiving means, and a female die adapted to cooperate with said mal'e dic and movable means.

6. In a signaling apparatus, the combination of a signal mpressing mechanism, said signal impressing mechanism comprising a male die, movable means for receivin said in'ipressing sig'nalya power device, means actuated by said power device for intermittently im artingfl blows to said signal in pressing mechanism, means actuated by said powerdevice for imparting movement to the signal receiving means,- and a female die adapted to'cooperate with saidmale die and said'movable means whereby a series'ot aeriorationsare received by said movable means.

7. ina signaling apparatus in combinesti'oii: movablepuncliing'element, a die arranged below said-punching element, a tape arranged between said punching element and saiddie a shaft operatively connecting with said tape, aspring connected" at one end'to said shaft, a drum connected to the other endofsaid spring, a stop plug on said drum,

mittentlyperforate said tape to'ii'npress' a series of visible signals thereon.

8. In a signaling apparatus, in combination: a movable signal impressing punch, a

arranged below and adapted to cooperate with said punch, a tape arranged'between said punch and said die, said die being provided with a longitudinal slot for a portion of its length to guide said tape after said signals have been impressed thereon, a shaft operatively connecting with said tape, a spring connected at one end to said shaft, a drum connected to the other end of said spring, a stop plug on said drum, a second stop plug operatively connected to'said shaft and adapted to operatively engage said first mentioned stop plug, and means for simultaneously winding said spring when said punch is actuated to intermittently perforate said tape to impress a thereon. I

9. n a signaling apparatus, the combinaion of a primary motor, a primary power ransmitter, a secondary motor energized by said primary power transmitter, a. secondary power transmitter, a signal receiving and carrying device which is moved by said seconcar power t ansniitt er,means actuatedby s l primary motor for d-er oiiningsai d carrying device, and'ineans actuated by the primary motor for preventing transmission of power by said secondary motor.

in testimony whereof, I aliiX-my si 'nature.

JACOB M; ROBERTS cries of visible signals 

